It is incredibly welcome news to hear that Paul Bettany, one of my personal favourite actors of all time, is about to make his directorial debut with Shelter, and he has already begun assembling an impressive cast to make the project with.

Showbiz411 report that Jennifer Connelly and Anthony Mackie have signed on to lead the film, which is said to be a love story about two homeless people. And not only that, but Stephen Graham is part of the cast as well, with the production recently sending out a notice for a number of other parts.

Bettany is directing from his own script, and will also make his debut as a producer, producing alongside Robert Ogden Barnum (Margin Call, Lawless), with Cassian Elwes (Blue Valentine, Margin Call) serving as executive producer.

Connelly is Bettany’s real-life wife, and starred alongside him and Russell Crowe in Ron Howard’s Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind, which earned Connelly her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Bettany also recently worked with Graham on Nick Murphy’s Blood, and will be working with Mackie here for the first time.

Perhaps best known on-screen for his role opposite Connelly and Crowe in A Beautiful Mind, Bettany has arguably become more recognisable as the voice of JARVIS for Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Along with getting ready to shoot his directorial debut, Bettany has also recently been busy as part of the stellar ensemble cast for Wally Pfister’s own directorial debut, Transcendence, which stars Johnny Depp, Kate Mara, Rebecca Hall, Cillian Murphy, and Morgan Freeman, and is due out in April 2014.

Shelter is set to shoot all over New York in September, and whilst it’s early days yet, an appearance on the festival circuit sometime next year would certainly be a likely candidate for its debut.

Since graduating, I spend as much time as possible watching films/TV shows, reading books, and listening to music. So getting to write about what I love is nothing short of awesome.
Biggest film-related hope for 2014/ever: Guy Ritchie announcing the RocknRolla sequel is finally moving forward.